WOW, I hope you have a heated garage to sort that out. What a mess. Thanks for sharing the photo.

 

Commander, How did your splash shield fail like that? The splash shield's front lip tucks into the front bumper. Yes, there are large holes, but do you think that the snow went in through those holes?

 

Not through the honeycomb structure. Only bees allowed in there
The snow was wet and was being thrown around via tires into the driveshaft opening and thus was accumulating straight into the undercover. See additional photos: snow was so sticky it was all over the place, including the driveshaft itself. The blowout happened about 30 minutes into my drive.

After the snow melted off, the cover is nowhere near as saggy as in the photos. That wet snow was heavy! I did not get the chance to replace the plastic fasteners, but the front end screws are holding up well. I will leave it as is for now to avoid another blowout lol.

 

Thanks Commander. That is a hell of an odd use case. I guess the metal fasteners are stronger than they look. You might want to check to ensure your splash shield front lip is tucked into the bumper, and maybe use some zip ties for the rear. Those plastic screws are useless anyway.

Only in Canada, eh?

 

Only in Canada indeed! I was driving in partly plowed roads so I was also leveling out some of the windrows/patches of snow with my front end. All snow accumulated from the driveshaft openings, however. Life goes on. Man that snow was as sticky as glue! It was a snow jungle there under the hood.

 

Yes, Yes and Yes. I finally put two and two together, when I would go to the dealer to get it serviced, they were either leaving the fasteners off, or they were being damaged, or affected in some way. Thus I would soon be 'flapping in the wind' literally, but of course they denied they were responsible so not much I could do.

 

I really think any debate over whether you need the splash shield or whatever you want to call it a waste.

It came with the vehicle.
If you don't want it? And leave it off? Then OK....hope it doesn't cause any future problem.

But the real crux of everything, is not whether you really need them or not, but just that for something that must be removed to do routine maintenance such as an Oil Change, and something designed to protect, on the bottom of the vehicle, it seems like it is pretty poorly designed and manufactured.

It's a cover on the bottom of the vehicle. It's not rocket science. Honda should be able to design one that is not only easy to remove and re-attach, but is durable enough to be repeatedly and routinely removed.

If I paid to have my Oil Changed at a Honda Dealership, I'd want or expect them to have vast supply of the needed clips and screws. Inspecting them upon removal and re-installation should be normal operating procedure.

Hasn't happened to me "yet" but if I suddenly had a loose shield and it was literally days after a dealership oil change? I'd be complaining and they'ed be fixing it for free.
Just too much of coincidence to believe that right after a dealership oil change suddenly the shield comes loose and falls down.
Again if clips are broken or screws missing, this is actually something I think they should catch as they are doing the Oil Change, so that is really no excuse.

I don't mind the under shield piece, what I mind is that is evidently is a PIA and not too well designed.

 

The design is not the problem, it's the dealership tech that is too lazy or too much in a rush to install it properly. The only time I had an issue is when I let the dealership do the first complimentary oil change.

Since I've done them myself, no issue and I've even reused the plastic push pins in the rear multiple times. 56k miles so numerous oil changes under my belt. Non ASE certified or dealer trained and can manage it myself since I'm in no rush.

 

I have a 2015 EX 6 spd i lost the three metal clip or fastener on the passenger side (i don't know the proper term) which holds the plastic frame. I tried many times to search for the part number but no success. Could anybody here give the part number. TIA

 

Sure, but how a part is likely to be used IS part of design.
And reading all the posts, some of the complaints are coming from things like parking space lip damage, speed bumps, snow accumlation and even running over cats.

You are doing your own oil changes, and being careful and checking the situation. Good for you.
But again, some of us, just don't do our own Oil Changes for a variety of reasons.

But from what I'm reading in this thread as a whole, I'm still going to say I think Honda could of designed the piece a whole lot better.
How about something as simple as a flap or door that would make it so the whole piece doesn't HAVE to be removed for every oil change?

How about NOT using plastic push pins to secure part of the piece?

Basically when owners are resorting to adding Zip Ties for assurance or simple need.
Driving around and suddenly hearing the piece as it drags on the ground. Then I'm going to say it could of been designed better.

Wouldn't be too hard you would think to design it so it was easy to remove, and nearly idiot proof to re-attach.

Shame on any technician not re-installing the shield correctly and paying attention to the condition of the fasteners.
If I ran a Honda service center, constant supply of those replaceable push pin connectors would be a constantly supplied item.
IMO even if the cost is added to the Oil Change, it should be part of the service. Like a Oil drain Crush Washer. Those plastic push pins should be relatively cheap. Inspect them at every Oil Change and replace if needed, should be the standard at every dealership. Evidently the standard is...Get the job done ASAP.

Again from what I've read in this thread if your plastic push pins are NOT breaking? It sounds like more the exception than the rule.
Honda could of designed the piece and connection points to be anything they wanted. Maybe all metal would of been nice.

A splash shield that connects using the same type of parts I use in assembling an Ottoman I bought at IKEA...is not a well designed part IMO.

It may be typical. The last vehicle I owned also had under body shields and owners complained of similar problems.
But that only goes to communicate to me, that there is room for improvement.
A shield that attaches to the underbody of your vehicle is a pretty basic and simple idea and concept. Making it better shouldn't really be that big a of design challenge.

 

You can't fix stupid. You can try to design something idiot proof, but the next version of idiot is created and makes the past design obsolete. That's the way the world works unfortunately. I've hit a pothole that popped a tire/deviated alignment and the engine cover stayed in place. I've also hit a fox and the splash shield is still attached.

I can't help other's situations if they can't/don't do their own oil changes. Just commenting that it doesn't take any special skill or training to remove/attach the plastic piece so it stays in place. Not sure which would be easier, to redesign said piece or retrain technician to do work properly...?

 

So you'd rather put your faith in natures ability to create a better idiot...than our ability to design a better product?

Well maybe you are right....somebody somewhere is stupid enough to mess up just about anything.

I still think the splash shield could be a whole lot better.

 

Yes, that's why we've never left an airplane in the sky. Bridges collapse, cars catch on fire, boats sink etc.

 

Those damn clips are expensive so if there's a recall for another item take your vehicle into the dealer and they might replace the clip incidentally for free. They did for me. I got 2-3 clips put in, didn't ask for it, and they did it anyways for no charge.

 

I bought a universal fit clip from my local hardware store and it worked like a charm. $3 if I remember. They came in pairs so I have a spare now. I spent 5 mins comparing with the OE one in hand.

Which reminds me of a genius idea .... getting some medium strength thread locker for those screws. How come I did not think about this earlier.

 

Do you have a link to a good video? I might learn something. Been doing my own oil changes. That slash shield sure does make me want to time my oil changes so I'm not doing one in the dead of winter.

 

Just completed an oil change. While the splash screen was a bit of a pain to remove and install, the zip ties worked really well and held the rear of the splash screen on without problem.

Hurray for inexpensive zip ties. I use 3.

 

After inspecting it closely, I noticed that the dealer did not replace some of the plastic screws everytime I went in for service. Went to another dealer and no problems..Hmm.

 

I don't trust even the dealers. I've added zip ties and I put duct tape over the push fasteners. A stitch in time....
Yes you have to watch out for the parking blocks.

 

after 7 years of NEVER removing the clips(and no one else has, i just removed the 6 screws and hinged tray down to change oil) I replaced the 2 rear clips with these from home depot and stainless screws,its kind of a "rubber bolt" with a metal nut encased in it, hopefully will allow the tray to "blow the clip off" if required because the snow just did to the drivers side here in snowy vancouver.